The Fast and the Furious

Jennifer Lawrence In Winter’s Bone (Star Trek Beyond review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

When you finally receive your geek badge, it’s a wondrous thing. And with it comes all the trappings of geekdom – insider knowledge, scrutiny of any associated media, and a sense of family.

Artists which are capable of tapping into that pulse usually produce the most interesting content, though not always perfect, for sure. But much closer to what that specific crowd is really after than a run of the mill director. That’s where the magic happens.

 

 

 

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin,  Sofia Boutella
Director: Justin Lin
released on blu-ray November 1, 2016
******* 7/10

startrekbeyondposter

IMDB: 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%, Audience Score 82%
The Guardian: ***/*****

 

Justin Lin is a Taiwanese American director who is best known for his work on The Fast and the Furious franchise (movies 3–6), Better Luck Tomorrow, and now Star Trek Beyond. He is also known for his work on television shows like Community and True Detective. But I bet you didn’t know that the character of Han was ripped right out of Better Luck Tomorrow and dropped directly into The Fast and the Furious franchise – Which means that they are in a shared universe.

Another interesting tid bit, Lin’s second feature film Annapolis, shared stars Tyrese Gibson and Jordana Brewster, who are also staples in The Fast and the Furious franchise.

I mention these things because Star Trek Beyond happens to be a continuation in another series of films, one with a rich history of both film and television iterations. In other words, while Lin had a major hand in shaping The Fast and the Furious films, Star Trek has been up and running without him for quite a while now. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Consider for a second that Beyond is written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, the thirteenth film entry. And Pegg is also currently portraying Montgomery “Scotty” Scott in the rebooted series.

Pegg had mentioned on several occasions that he and Jung worked with the fans to help flesh out the story of this film and that Beyond wouldn’t have worked if it weren’t for the support of Star Trek supporters. Additionally, the film is dedicated to the memory of Anton Yelchin, who portrayed Chekov in these new films, and who died a month prior to the film’s release. As well, original cast member Leonard Nimoy, was given a dedication, as he also featured in the reboots, but unfortunately died during pre-production of this film.

This says a lot of Lin’s ability to bolster a fan base and work with the actors to foster a family environment.

So what about the movie though? Well, I’ll get right to the point, in the spirit of Beyond’s own directness. This movie is fun, straightforward, and showcases a better chemistry amongst it cast of youthful star trekkers than we saw in the previous two films. I will say this though, the plot isn’t nearly as interesting as I would have hoped.

Effectively, the film starts with the USS Enterprise taking a break at the 3 year mark of their 5 year journey. Kirk wants to be promoted to Vice Admiral and turn his captain seat over to Spock, while Spock and Uhura are on the rocks. We later find out that this is because he has recently discovered that his counter-part Ambassador Spock has died and he wants to leave for the small Romulan colony and help repopulate his species. Then a survivor from a spaceship appears and the Enterprise is assigned to bring in other survivors. It turns out to be a trap. The ship is attacked, the majority of the crew abandons ship, and the bridge crew are stranded on a planet called Altamid. It turns out a warlord named Krall is at the centre of this and he wants to destroy the Federation.

I won’t reveal the plot twist, but I will say this, it is very reminiscent of the 2009 Star Trek reboot. And for that reason, it loses some points with me.

Pros: It embraces the spirit of the original series, focusing on it’s cast of characters, costuming, and terminology to set a stage similar to how the TV show felt, albeit longer and with much better special effects.

Cons: If you take away the action sequences, fighting, and CGI, you’ll quickly notice how much this feels like a TV episode of Star Trek, and then the plot becomes more of an issue.

Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes

Points of Interest: Starbase Yorktown is a reference to the original name of the starship in Roddenberry’s first drafts of the TV show script. Alice Eve who played Dr. Carol Marcus in Star Trek: Into Darkness is surprisingly missing from this film and no mention is made of her, though she was part of the 5 year voyage. Kirk makes a toast to absent friends at the end of the film and we quickly see the shot move to  Anton Yelchin.

I really enjoyed this movie but it’s important to consider it in the scope of the Star Trek universe. For those who liked the two most recent J.J. Abrams movies, it might be harder to take this one in, and for those who enjoy older Star Trek, it might make you nostalgic for another television series. But overall, this film sits well within the canon.

Simon Pegg told this cute little anecdote about new character Jahlah (Sofia Boutella). They had originally intended to create this strong independent female character stranded on the planet of Altamid. But they couldn’t land on a name, so they just inserted Jennifer Lawrence from Winter’s Bone into the script. Over time this kept getting shortened, but a name wasn’t chosen. It finally got to the point that J-Law was being said aloud and it was agreed that Jahlah was the right name.

It’s decisions like this that Star Trek fans get a kick out of, and why the franchise is much beloved. Those easter eggs make all the difference, and the universe created a little more more nuanced. Justin Lin gets that, and I hope you do too. But that’s just a theory.

Tim!

Swordfish Doesn’t Even Taste Good Anyway (The Fast and the Furious 15th Anniversary)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Fifteen years ago my life changed, and for the better.

Last Wednesday marked the anniversary of that transformative experience and so I sat down in a theatre by myself to watch my favourite movie of all time and reflect on it’s impact on my own life – I remember that first experience like it was yesterday, dear readers.

My best and oldest friend, who we’ll call Rick for the sake of the story, was living in the city of Airdrie and I was visiting him for a couple of weeks at the start of the summer. We had grown up on the same block, living in mirrored houses of all things, and we spent most of our free time together, though we did go to different schools and had somewhat different hobbies, we were inseperable. Life was pretty good for two young boys, and we got into all kinds of adventures until he moved to Drumheller for his dads new job after the final year of elementary school.

So Rick and his family lived in Drumheller for the next 3 years and we would hang out for at holidays and in the summer, and we did our best to keep in touch. Initially with letters and phone calls, migrating to MSN messenger as new tech become available. And then Rick and his family moved a second time – now to Airdrie for another 3 years, right at the start of high school. I mention this because it helps bookend those memories for Rick and I and it REALLY helps me in the recall of this tale.

In the summer of 2001 Rick and I had both finished grade 10, hormones raging away. We decided to sneak into an 18A movie, but because we weren’t 18 yet, we needed to buy tickets for another movie first. What did we want to see you ask? Well if your memory is as good as mine, you’ll know that Swordfish had just come out that summer, and Halle Berry was paid an additional $500,000 to go topless in the movie. $250,000 per breast if you want to be specific.

As straight CIS males in the midst of puberty, and who didn’t have high speed internet, money, or legal adult status, nudity was in high demand for us. To put it another way the sexuality supply was short. And so, context given.

But we chickened out, and ended up in the theatre for The Fast and the Furious instead. Thus, my first taste of this franchise was born. On first pass I thought it was a fun action movie, but I didn’t make too big of a deal out of it, because I didn’t drive yet, and the actors were unknown. It was quotable though.

The summer concluded, and I went back to school, though I decided it was high time to get a part-time job at an arcade called Playdium. I learnt a lot about retail, people, and West Edmonton Mall working there, but most of all I watched a lot of partial movies on my breaks. I must of seen The Fast and the Furious in 30 and 15 minutes pieces over 15 complete times that year. This is because one of the older techs at Playdium lived on his own and would record movies from the movie channel onto VHS and bring it in for the staff. And so the quotes and culture of the first Fast became ingrained in my mind.

It was tough to invest in the franchise though, because as the as the first couple of sequels came out, I was entering into university, and getting involved with hipsters and philosopher king types. So my love of movies and brooding love for Vin Diesel and Paul Walker took a back seat. I would tell people it was my favourite movie, mostly under the thin veil of irony, and I also proclaimed that it was a standalone film.

Then I graduated from university and a couple of years later Fast & Furious came out in April of 2009 – I finally had a true sequel with the original cast and the beginnings of a tie-in with the 2nd and 3rd entries. As movies were added, the ensemble cast grew and the relationships between characters evolved. And then I realized that I had grown as well.

As a cultivators of the arts, a student of film, and a fan of this franchise, I can say confidently that The Fast and the Furious instills values of friendship, love, and family from it’s first few minutes all the way throughout its films and into the culture.

Best of all, in watching this limited release I had an opportunity to see advance footage from the set of the 8th instalment, and I was not disappointed. This is a franchise that has grown organically and so has it’s fanbase. I was so happy to see a packed theatre last Wednesday, and you really do feel like part of a family sharing with these actors and their characters.

Most of the already existing posts on this re-release have focused on the scale of the franchise and the “improbability” of it’s success. But what has been ignored time and time again is that at it’s core The Fast and the Furious is about heart and honour, it started out as films about car thieves, and slowly evolved into superheroes, but the heart has always been there, and I think that’s why it’s beaten the odds. But hey, that might just be a theory.

Tim!

Behind The Theories (timotheories June 2016)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Well we finally made it! We’re now into the 6th month of the year and I’ve got another fantastic monthly update for you, dear readers!

Yes, it’s time to unveil the show and give you a sneak peek of things to come in the month of June. We’ve already started things off right with a post about the importance of plans, and I think it’s a great indicator of the continued quality we are able to offer at timotheories.

quality

Before we get into the schedule though, I need to share my disclaimer with you. It’s old hat but always important as I don’t want to disappoint.

*Disclaimer* As always, every week I purchase an album and movie one week ahead of the actual review release and while I have the best intentions, I don’t always get what I want… so if you follow me on instagram (@timotheories) you can actually see what’s coming.

Great! Now we can get into the thick of it. And of course I’ve included the week of May 29-June 4 as a reference point, though you’ve already read my review on Eric Clapton’s new record and we’re in the midst of today’s post:

Stimulating Sundays – (06/05) David Wiens interview, (06/12) Cross Talk Ep.6, (06/19) Formalist Art, (06/26) Just In Time Games
Melodic Mondays – (06/06) Holy Fuck, (06/13) Paul Simon, (06/20) The Veronicas, (06/27) Radiohead
Theatrical Tuesdays – (06/07) Love In The Time of Monsters, (06/14) Zootopia, (06/21) 10 Cloverfield Lane, (06/28) Midnight Special
Wisdom Wednesdays – (06/01) Plan to Make Plans, (06/08) Multi-Tasking, (06/15) George Orwell, (06/22) Why You Must Keep A Journal, (06/29) Snopes
Timely Thursday – (06/02) timotheories June, (06/09) Nextfest, (06/16) Father’s Day, (06/23) The Works, (06/30) The Fast & The Furious

The year of all killer, no filler continues friends! Now I should warn you, I do have something extra special planned with the interviews going forward, and because we feature interviews on Sundays, I may or may not be pushing a few things around in the Sunday and Thursday posts to accommodate the influx of international artist Q&A opportunities, but more on that when it comes up.

This month’s Cross Talk is going to be an interesting one as Chris and I talk about how fandom can impact film and influence studio direction, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad.

You won’t want to miss it.
9545_fit512

And of course the David Wiens interview is forthcoming; now that will be a fantastic entry into the fold of existing timotheories interviews. It’s my most precise and informative interview yet, and with a sculptor of light, no less.

And now we’ve covered it all, my friends. Or have we?

I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but seriously been working the format over on the tabletop gaming series and I now have a serious partner to host with, and an excellent local location to shoot the videos, and it’s just in time.

And those are all of the theories I can come up with for now friends.

Please leave some comments, to let us know what you want to see in coming months and subscribe to the blog too!

Tim!

Damn That Sh** Was Dope (Straight Outta Compton review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Sometimes something is popular despite what the critics have to say about it, other times it creates polarizing viewpoints, and still in other scenarios, you will see critic support and fandom and something still doesn’t get recognition.

But that’s okay, cause this weeks film has got something to say.

 

 

 

Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Cast: O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge, Paul Giamatti
Director: F. Gary Gray
released on blu-ray January 19, 2016
******** 9/10

straight-outta-compton-poster

IMDB: 8.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%, Audience Score 93%
The Guardian: ****/*****

Felix Gary Gray is an American music video director, film director & producer, and sometimes actor. Gray directed has directed a number of influential films including Friday, Set It Off, The Negotiator, and The Italian Job remake.

Did I also mention that he is going to be at the helm of the next the Fast and the Furious franchise entry (tentatively called Fast 8)???

So you know I’m not going to go easy on him, right? Or should I say eazy? That franchise is one of the most coveted pieces of cinema culture at the moment, and it happens to be one of my favourites, if you haven’t been following Cross Talk yet…

Let’s take a peek under the hood before we give an assessment.

 

 


The movie open with Easy-E (Jason Mitchell) in the middle of a bad drug deal that has been raided by the police. He barely escapes arrest. Then we meet Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) who is listening to records in his room. His mom wants him to get a better job instead of DJing at a local club. He decides to move out and tells his brother he will take him to Miami when he makes it. Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) is writing rhymes on the bus. He witnesses some kids flash gang signs at Crenshaw Mafia before the gang pulls the bus over and threatens the kid at fault.

Cube gets off at the house where Dre is staying and tells him about his day before sharing his new rhymes. On his way home the police stop him and search him for drugs.

Jump to Doo-Tos Club,  where we see Dre and DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.) spinning for Lonzo, who hates rap and yells at Dre for letting Cube have a set. E has come there with MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) and tells Dre to keep at it. Dre then asks E to consider backing his music.

After a fight outside the club parking lot, the police arrest Dre, but E posts bail. They decide to start up Ruthless Records, and try recording with a group before the group bails because they hate Cube’s lyrics. Cube can’t record because he is already in a group, but Dre convinces E to do it.

Boyz n the Hood becomes the #1 record and gets the attention of manager Jerry Heller (Paul Giamati) who partners with E to build a business.

Fast forward a couple years, and the group is performing in Skateland. Easy-E gets the group to wear matching black and we find out that record executives are in the audience. They all pass exception for Bryan Turner (Tate Ellington) from Priority Records. They agree to sign with him and start to record Straight Outta Compton.

After a break from recording the group is outside and harassed by LAPD, while Jerry watches, helpless. The song Fuck tha Police is born. We also learn that only E has a contract currently.

While on tour the group play packed arenas, have tons of parties, and deal with groupies. They also get a cease-and-desist for Fuck tha Police from the FBI. We also start to see tension over the lack of contracts, especially from Cube. Dre doesn’t seem worried.

But then we learn that Dre’s brother has been killed in a fight and feels responsible for not bringing him on tour. His mom tells him otherwise, and the group gets back on tour.

Then the movie shows us the legendary Detroit show where the police issue a warning to not play Fuck tha Police due to the vulgar language of the song. Cube tells the crowd about it and they play anyway. The crowd goes nuts, shots are fired and everyone flees. NWA is arrested.

During a press conference, Cube tells reporters that their art reflects their reality. When the question of spending their money comes up, it gets awkward before E diffuses the question with a joke. Finally Jerry gives Cube a contract to sign and a cheque for $75K, but only if he signs. Cube wants a lawyer to look it over, but Jerry won’t go for that, so Cube decides to leave the group, while Dre and the others stay.

 

And it just heats up from there, I promise you that!

Pros: The first hour is fast paced and sets the stage for what I would call a very gripping finale. It is a very short history of these players with some cameos from other notable talent, but it’s three protagonists stand out especially.

Cons: The back half of the story doesn’t quite have the same grit, so it hurts the movie somewhat overall. You’ll walk away wishing the characters were still working through things.

Runtime: 147 minutes

Points of Interest: The original cut of this movie was 3 hours and 30 minutes! This is largest grossing R-rated movie in box office history at $60m opening weekend. M.C. Ren was a major contributor and fan favourite of NWA but is something of a background character in the movie.

 

 

 

That’s right, that shit was dope, and I think it’s one of 2015’s top films. So please do yourself a favour and check it out if you haven’t already.

Because if the Golden Globes and Academy awards can’t see how awesome this film is, but the vast majority of people AND critics do, then you know that you you’ve got something special in front of you.

See you tomorrow my friends, with some more wisdom.

Tim!